Category Archives: Ridleians of Distinction

Today, the Ridley community mourns the loss of Crawford Gordon ’56, who passed away on March 3rd in Toronto, Ontario at the age of 78.

Crawford was amongst the most loyal and generous of Ridleians; a former Vice-President and Chairman of the Ridley Board of Governors (2000 to 2004), an active Board member, past parent and alumnus. Up until his death, Crawford held position as the Vice-Chairman of the Ridley College Foundation. He attended our school from 1947 to 1956, was a decorated athlete, member of the Glee Club, Science Club and Student Council, a Cadet Corps Platoon Sergeant, and served as a Prefect in his final year.

After graduating, Crawford became a respected businessman. He began his career at Wood Gundy in 1966, later joining Burns Fry (now BMO Nesbitt Burns). During his 29 years with the firm, he became one of their top brokers, a Vice-President and Director and a 10-year member of the Chairman’s Council. In 1997, he joined Gordon Private Client Corporation, which was acquired by HSBC. In 1999, he co-founded McFarlane Gordon Inc. now known as Industrial Alliance Securities Inc.

To Ridleians, Crawford will be remembered for his kind spirit, philanthropy and unwavering dedication to our school. Outside of his leadership roles with the Board, he and his wife Eve generously sponsor the MGI – Gordon Distinguished Speakers’ Series, an endowed fund that helps to bring notable speakers to campus each year.

Crawford will be dearly missed by a far-reaching community. Our heart-felt condolences go out to the Gordon family. Crawford is survived by his wife, Eve, and children, Crawford Jr. ’04, Chloé ’05 and Parris ’08.

A memorial service will be held for Crawford Gordon ’56 on May 6th, 2017 at 2:00p.m. in the Ridley College Memorial Chapel. A reception will follow.

He was also an outstanding and beloved teacher of English at Ridley from 1976 to 1980 and again from 1986 to 2001. During his time at the School, and as holder of the first Cronyn Chair, Richard made a tremendous impact, established Voices (the literary journal) as well as the Literary Dinner. He will also be remembered for his enthusiasm in coaching league soccer.

Richard will be dearly missed by a far-reaching community of Ridleians. Details of a memorial service will be forthcoming.

This past weekend, Ridley graduates from far and wide returned to campus for HomeComing; where they had the chance to see friends, reminisce about old times, and make new memories.

FRIDAY

This year in particular, we celebrated classes whose years ended in 0’s and 5’s, and honoured the class of 1965 as 2015’s Golden Tigers.

Friday’s events began with the Golden Tigers luncheon with Headmaster, Ed Kidd and his wife, Hanna, followed by a tour of the new buildings on campus. Later in the evening, OR’s, Governor’s, faculty and friends gathered in school house to watch the unveiling of the 125 Donor Wall, which proudly displays the names of those who made major donations to the school during the 125th year. The Governors’ Dinner rounded out the day’s events with OR’s from 1945 all the way up to 2010 dined in the Great Hall.

SATURDAY

Saturday began with Alumni Rowing, where twelve OR’s took to Royal Canadian Henley Regatta to row with the current Ridley Crew. The rain did make a brief appearance, but the rowers had smiles on their faces nonetheless.

Back on campus, OR’s began to fill up the tent, tour their old houses, visit with their old teachers and enjoy their time back on the Ridley grounds. The bleachers in the Griffith Gym were filled to capacity, as the inaugural “Athletes of Distinction” presentation began. This was an opportunity for us to celebrate some of Ridley’s greatest athletes, such as Fiona Milne ‘90 (Canadian, Olympic rower) and Alexander Hayes 30’(Grey Cup Champion). Luckily, the sun came out just in time for the OR’s to enjoy some afternoon sports.

SUNDAY

On the final day of HomeComing, OR’s sat down in the Memorial Chapel for the “Founder’s Day” service, followed by Prayers of Remembrance and a dedication in the memory of John Stevens, ’42. Our last item of the Weekend was an alumni soccer game.

Thank you to all who attended and participated in another successful HomeComing weekend.

For all the photos from HomeComing weekend, check out Ridley’s official Flickr page!

It’s Wednesday and we are celebrating our alumni! Today on the blog, entrepreneurs, TV stars and sisters Sophie and Katherine.

Katherine Kallinis-Berman and Sophie Kallinis-LaMontagne, who graduated from Ridley one year apart, are the co-founders of Georgetown Cupcake, stars of the hit series DC Cupcakes on TLC, and best-selling authors of The Cupcake Diaries and Sweet Celebrations. Inspired by their grandmother, in 2008, they traded careers in fashion and venture capital to follow their passion for baking and opened Georgetown Cupcake in Washington, DC. Since 2008, they have expanded Georgetown Cupcake with locations in Bethesda, MD, New York City/SoHo, Boston/Newbury St, and Los Angeles. Georgetown Cupcake ships its cupcakes nationwide and offers over 100 flavours. The Kallinis sisters and their cupcakes have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, Food & Wine, TV Guide, the NBC Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live! With Kelly, ABC Nightline, Access Hollywood, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, People, InStyle, Town & Country, US Weekly, Redbook, Real Simple, and Cosmopolitan. Georgetown Cupcake regularly participates in neighbourhood and community events in the Washington DC region and supports numerous local and national charitable organizations and foundations, in particular charities that focus on women and children’s health issues. Since opening in 2008, Georgetown Cupcake has donated tens of thousands of cupcakes to charitable causes.

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

It’s Wednesday and we are celebrating our alumni! Today we are featuring actor, Christopher Potter ’80.

As a child, Potter’s parents instilled in him, a love of academics, art and athletics. He was in his 20’s before he realized this. His professional acting career began seemingly overnight. He was ‘discovered’ in an amateur play and swept into the professional world of acting. He worked as a stockbroker in Europe and in Canada, while continuing to perform in amateur theatre productions. He caught the attention of Martha Henry, one of Canada’s leading actresses, who cast him in the Canadian production of Biloxi Blues in Toronto. Potter won rave reviews and within a month landed a leading role in the CBC television series Material World(1990). He made a name for himself in television starring in two long-running popular dramatic series, which at one point let to him appearing on screen in two different roles at the same time. He played David Carradine’s son and crime fighting partner in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993), and starred as a hard-hitting police sergeant for three years in USA Network’s Silk Stalkings (1991), for which he also served as an episode director. He is known for being an actor with a flair for edgy and unconventional roles. In 2001, he received the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival Award for best actor for his first feature film role in the drama Rockets’ Red Glare (2000). Currently, he plays Tim Fleming, on the hit Canadian drama Heartland.

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

It’s Wednesday which means we are profiling Ridleians of Distinction. Today on the blog we are showcasing Ridley’s first female Olympian.

In 1981, Tregunno brought home Ridley’s first Canadian Girl’s Championship in a singles scull. She got her start with the Canadian national rowing team in 1978, when she won a bronze medal in the coxed eights at the 1978 Junior World Championships. She upgraded to gold the following year and was selected to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics, but stayed home after Canada joined the boycott of those Games. In 1981 she placed fourth in the coxed eights event at the Senior World Championships. She switched to the coxed fours for the 1983 edition and finished fourth with her team before attending the 1984 Summer Olympics, where she won a silver medal alongside her teammates. She then captured gold and bronze medals in the event at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and World Championships respectively. This quintet, came in sixth at the 1987 World Championships, and then finished seventh in the coxed eights at the same tournament. Tregunno’s final major international tournament was the 1988 Summer Olympics, where her 1987 crew placed seventh in the coxed fours. Tregunno-Stamp is now an accountant in Guelph, Ontario.

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

It’s Wednesday and we are featuring Ridleians of Distinction on the blog! Today we are profiling Sir John Bell from the Class of 1971.Bell graduated from the University of Alberta in 1975, and then studied medicine on a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. In 1982, he took up a position as Clinical Fellow in Immunology with Hugh McDevitt at Stanford University, California, USA, where he worked on histocompatibility antigens and autoimmune disease. In 1987 Bell returned to Oxford as a Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow, and joined the Institute of Molecular Medicine, founded by David Weatherall. In 1992 he succeeded Weatherall as the Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine and, in 2002, became the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford. In 1994, Bell was one of the founders of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University. He is an Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and a student of Christ Church College. Bell’s research has identified genes involved in susceptibility to diabetes mellitus type 1, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. His work has been important in elucidating the interactions on the surface of the T cell involved in immune activation. He has also worked on the biomedical applications of high-throughput genomic technologies, including structural genomics and ENU mutagenesis. He has been directly involved in applying genetics in a clinical setting and helped develop the 100,000 genome project in England. Bell was awarded an honorary D.Sc. by the University of Alberta in 2003. He was President of the Academy of Medical Sciences from 2006-2011. In 2008, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), and was knighted for services to medicine in the New Year Honours of that year. Since 2011 he has been one of two Life Sciences Champions for the UK, reporting to the Prime Minister. He was made a Knight Grand Cross (GBE) for his services to medicine, medical research and the UK life science industry in the New Year Honours in 2015.

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

It’s Wednesday and we are featuring Ridleians of Distinction on the blog! Today we are profiling Catherine McDonald from the class of 1989.

Catherine McDonald came to Global Toronto in November 2000 and since then has reported on many of the biggest news stories in the GTA. Specializing in crime reporting, she has covered numerous crime stories and helped the station win two national RTNDA awards for best continuing coverage of the Jonathan story, and continuing coverage of the disappearance of Alicia Ross. McDonald’s career highlights include flying in an F-16 with the US Air Force Thunderbirds during the 2001 CNE air show, getting exclusive access onto one of four migrant ships, which landed on Vancouver Island during the summer of 2000 and covering Karla Homolka’s release from prison in the summer of 2005. She was born and raised in Edmonton, but spent three years living in Ottawa in the late 70’s while her father chaired the McDonald Commission into the RCMP. It was there, she was first exposed to the glare of media on Parliament Hill. After attending McGill University in Montréal, she returned to Edmonton where she volunteered for Shaw cable and later attended the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s Radio and Television program. After a few years behind the scenes, she moved in front of the camera, spending nearly two years in Red Deer as a videographer for CTV Edmonton, before moving to CHEK TV, the Global station in Victoria. 18 months later, McDonald landed in Toronto.

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

It’s Wednesday which means we are celebrating our alumni! Today we are featuring Thomas ‘Tawgs’ Salter from the class of 1994. It’s no secret that we have some pretty talented musicians who currently attend Ridley and also who have gone on to do some amazing things in the music industry once they have left the Ridley gates – Salter is no exception! Read on to learn more about today’s Ridleian of Distinction:

‘Tawgs’ Salter is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer and recording engineer. His extensive body of musical work includes a vast array of artists ranging from Josh Groban, Lights and Lenka to Chantal Kreviazuk, Fefe Dobson, Midway State and USS. Salter has also worked alongside Grammy-winning writer/producer Walter Afanasieff, Salter’s music, production and collaborations have been featured on numerous television shows, including Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol and The Simpsons – as well as films. Salter’s writing and production of the soaring pop ballad You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up), Josh Groban’s first single from his multi-platinum selling third studio album Awake, reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary Billboard chart. The song was sung by Lisa Simpson on the television show The Simpsons.

On December 15, 2009, Canadian singer-songwriter LIGHTS was acknowledged with two No.1 song awards by SOCAN, alongside writing partner Salter, who helped her pen her smash hits Drive My Soul and Saviour. Drive My Soul reached the top spot on MuchMusic Countdown on January 8, 2009. In 2012, Salter produced Drive, the debut song of American actor and singer Cheyenne Jackson.

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.

Throughout the summer, we will be profiling Ridleians of Distinction every Wednesday! Many of you may wonder what happens to our Ridley graduates when they leave the Ridley gates. We can tell you that Ridley graduates are living all over the world and are doing amazing things. We are very proud of all our Old Ridleians!

Josie Ho ’90 in the American film ‘Contagion’

Josie Ho ’90 is from Hong Kong. She has played many roles since entering show business as a pop singer in 1994, followed by her acting debut in Victory. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in both the Golden Horse Award and Hong Kong Film Award for Purple Storm, but won her first award at the 9th Golden Bauhinia Award for Forever and Ever. In 2000, she won Best Supporting Actress again for ”Naked Ambition” in the 23rd annual Hong Kong Film Awards. Ho has also acted in American films, “Contagion” and “Open Grave.”

To view a complete list of Ridleians of Distinction or to nominate a Ridleian of Distinction, please click here.